Ghana’s ‘Vagabonds’ Wins Best Short Film At Montreal World Film Festival

Nelly Bilson, Idrissu Tontie and Fiifi Asher, some of the child actors in the short film

‘Vagabonds’, a Ghanaian short film by Amartei Armar, is raising the bar on world film platforms for becoming the first African film to win an award at the 2018 Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF) in 42 years.

The film has brought honour to Ghana’s film industry, being the only film representing the African continent while competing in the world competitive category.

The 2018 MWFF was held in Canada from August 23 to September 3, 2018.

It is organised annually to encourage cultural diversity and understanding between nations. It embraces film productions worldwide and encourages upcoming filmmakers to showcase their work in order to stimulate the development of quality cinematography around the world.

This year’s event attracted a number of filmmakers around the world, as well as screening of international films.

‘Vagabonds’ was among the films that were screened and it went ahead to win best short film.

The win comes not long after the film was praised for its uniqueness and quality at the Black Stars International Film Festival back home in Accra.

‘Vagabonds’ is a story of two orphaned brothers — 10-year-old Owusu and five-year-old Gyasi — who feel trapped in their orphanage.

The fear of being separated by adoption provokes Owusu’s desire to protect his brother and their bond at all cost. Owusu is willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means escaping into an unknown future.

The 14-minutes short film was produced by Yemoh Ike and features first-time child actors like Idrissu Tontie as Owusu, Fiifi Asher as Gyasi and Nelly Bilson as Maame. It also features Nana Ama McBrown in an unassuming supporting role that reveals a side of her we have never seen before.